by Kyrii Rayne
"What do you think they're holding her for?"
"I have no idea. I thought they were holding her to fish me out. Or you. But they haven't called or anything yet to make any demands or offer up a trade or anything."
"Do you think they killed her?"
"I doubt it. Why take her to kill her? That doesn't match Tim's style."
"What about hiding the body?"
Garrett shook his head and frowned.
"He never cared about that before. It was just get in, kill the wolf, erase any evidence that it was you, and get out. No need to hide the body unless they can use it to find you. And with proper planning, erasing your involvement is easy."
"What the fuck are you two doing here?" Another voice whispered from behind.
Garrett and Amber stopped walking and turned around. The man towered over them. Garrett reached around Amber and guided her behind him. The man swayed his knife against the sunlight as he glared at them.
Amber held her hands up.
"You work for Tim?"
"Who's Tim?"
Garrett cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrows.
"Look, I don't know what you're doing. We aren't here to interrupt you at all. We're just looking for a bunker. We might be lost."
The man glared at Garrett. His eyes traveled from Garrett's mouth down to his legs. He straightened his stance and tucked his knife back into his pocket.
"What bunker?"
Amber gave a nervous smile and took a step forward.
"There's an abandoned bunker somewhere around here. We think our friend was captured and brought there."
The man sized her up and took a deep breath.
"Name’s Gene. Come on. Let's go."
Gene grabbed Garrett and jerked him forward in front of him. Amber followed as Gene pushed Garrett into the forest.
Gene ushered them toward a clearing against the side of the hill, and in the shade of the trees on its side was a hidden cave.
"Sara!" he called out.
His voice echoed her name deeper into the cave. Three more people walked up to greet Gene. Their skin covered in dirt. They glared at Garrett with suspicion.
"Why would you bring him back here?" the only female in the bunch asked.
Garrett assumed she was Sara.
"You're wolves," Amber smiled. "All this time I thought--."
Garrett grabbed Amber's hand and shook his head.
"That doesn't make them friends."
Gene scoffed.
"We need help," Amber tried anyway. "Our friend was captured by some awful people and we think she's being kept in an old abandoned bunker somewhere around here. We're trying to get her out."
"I think it might be the same bunker they're holding James in." Gene added
"James?"
Sara glared at Gene and frowned.
"Get them out of here, Gene. Make sure they can't find their way back."
"Please," Amber pleaded. "You have to help us get her out of there. And we can help you get your...um--."
"James." Sara finished her sentence. "But how can you possibly help us?"
*****
"I'm a wolf, too."
Sara shook her head and laughed.
"I am."
"Oh I believe you. But why would you want to come to us for help instead of going to your own pack?"
"I don't -- I don't have a pack. Except Allyson. She's kind of my pack."
"Allyson is the one who turned you?"
Amber shook her head.
"No. A hunter turned me."
"A hunter?"
"A man named Eddie," Garrett jumped in. "He had a vial of the virus and he stuck her with a needle."
"Virus? Like a disease?"
Amber nodded.
"Get them out of here."
"What? Why?"
Sara glared at Amber.
She stepped closer until she was less than an inch away from her. Amber tried to back away, but found herself pinned by Gene.
"You think of yourself as a disease. Not a wolf. A disease can't help us."
"But--."
"Out!" Sara pointed back toward the opening of the cave.
Amber's heart sank and tears stung her eyes. She glanced over at Garrett. He shook his head and started walking out of the cave, grateful to be leaving alive to continue the search for the bunker.
"No."
Amber stood her ground. Every bone in her body shook. She took in deep, nervous breaths to try to calm her words. And she stared up at Sara.
"No?"
"I never said I was a disease. I said he stuck me with one. A disease that happened to turn me into a wolf. And for months that man and my friend have been trying to convince me that I'm not a monster. That being a wolf was a life that I could get used to. Maybe even thrive in. Do some good in. And if I leave here, then you prove them wrong because right now I think the best good we can do is to save Allyson from Tim and whatever he's doing to her in that bunker. But if you turn us away, then you really are monsters."
Sara held her breath and glanced up at Gene. Her jaw dropped and she turned to look at the other wolves.
Amber accepted Sara's hesitation as an indication that she might be thinking over her argument.
"So you should help us. Because you should be trying to convince me that being like you is worth it."
Sara turned back to Amber and scowled.
"Being a wolf isn't being a monster. But let's get one thing straight. You will never be like me."
Amber nodded and blinked away the tears in her eyes.
"Does that mean you'll help us?"
Sara glanced back and forth between Amber and Garrett. Amber held her breath and bit her bottom lip. Finally, Sara nodded and motioned for them to come in further.
"We'll show you where the bunker is. From there it's up to you to get your friend out."
"We got that covered."
Garrett offered a smile and held his hand out to Sara.
Sara nodded and shook Garrett's hand.
*****
This is a strange turn of events. A year ago, I would have been hunting these things. Now I'm walking with them?
"So is it true?" Sara's voice drowned out Garrett's thoughts.
"Is what true?"
"You used to hunt us?"
Garrett gritted his teeth and ducked beneath branches of the trees. The rest of the pack ran around him, Amber, and Sara in circles.
Sniffing. Scouting. Reporting back.
Garrett took a deep breath and glanced over at Sara.
"It's… I'm... Well."
"Oh. So it is true, then."
Garrett nodded.
"It's fine. I'm not angry. Although some of the rest of my pack might not take so kindly to the news."
"How were you able to form a pack here and not draw attention to yourselves from hunters?"
"Simple. We didn't."
"I don't understand," said Amber.
"We aren't from here. We were on our way from Oregon out to Montana when we picked up a scent."
"What kind of scent?"
"A wolf in trouble."
"You can smell that?" Amber asked.
"Werewolves give off hormones to attract other werewolves. You gave off the scent of a lost wolf--someone who needed a pack. The other scent was a wolf in trouble."
"Wait. So, you knew I didn't have a pack?"
"Yeah. But you weren't in trouble. So we left you alone. Figured you would find us."
"So, what's in Montana?" Garrett changed the subject. "Why go there?"
"Hopefully, a home. Most of us have been traveling for a long time. We just want a place where we can live as wolves. And we want to get there before mating season starts."
"Mating season? Werewolves have a mating season?" Garrett choked on the absurdity of the words.
"There's a lot you don't know about us."
“I guess so."
"So who is James, then?" Amber asked.
"He's o
ur Alpha."
"Your leader," said Garrett.
"One of them."
"I thought you were the leader."
"I'm the alpha female. Gene is my mate and James is my brother, so people turn to me when he's not around."
"So Gene is your Alpha male?"
"That's right."
"And what happens if he dies or--."
"Then it falls to James. And James's mate will be the new Alpha Female. Anyway, we're almost at the bunker. Here." She handed a small bottle over to Garrett. He studied the bottle's murky white liquid and shook it. "Right before we turn, douse yourself in that. It'll mark you as one of us."
"Mark me? You mean this is--."
"Urine."
"Oh God. Whose urine?"
"Do you really want to know?"
Garrett rethought his question. His eyes darted from one traveling companion to another and back to Sara.
"Not even a little bit," he said as he hung the abnormal pendant around his neck.
"So, since you were one of them, you know. How many hunters are we about to come across?”
Garrett glared out in front of him. "Twenty, thirty. For Tim to take up an entire bunker, he brought backup. I wouldn't be surprised if Nick was here."
"Nick? Who's that?"
"Tim's boss."
*****
James rummaged through the desk until he found keys and tossed them over to Allyson. Then he turned on his heels and ran out the door. Allyson rolled her eyes and shook her head. She reached her arm between the bars and stretched. Pressing the side of her face against the metal unit it hurt. Finally, she managed to loop the tip of her finger through the hoop of the keychain and started sliding the keys closer to her.
Allyson took a deep breath and started sorting through the keys. She leaned against the end of the cage with the padlock hanging from the door and started testing keys.
"Ugh," Tim moaned.
Oh shit. Allyson thought as she redoubled her efforts.
The first two keys didn't fit. Nine more to try.
Tim's hand wrapped around the taser pole and pulled it away from him. He rubbed his eyes and groaned again.
Third key didn't fit.
Neither did the fourth.
Come on. Come on... One of you have to work. She glanced back around the room at Tim. He didn't seem to notice that James was gone, or that she had the keys. Gunfire and screams echoed out in the hallway.
"Okay, okay, okay," she whispered as she tested the fifth key.
No luck.
Allyson shook her head and drew back the keychain to flip to another key and try again.
Tim yelled, startling Allyson and making her drop the keys.
He pulled his foot up toward him. The bar from James's cage still stuck clean through the bottom.
"You dick!" Tim screamed.
He turned back to James's cage only to see it sitting there empty.
His eyes darted around the room. Filled with hatred.
Allyson tried the next key.
Tim searched his body for his gun. Gone.
No luck with the key.
He used his fingers to pull himself along the floor toward the taser pole.
Next key in the lock.
The blood on the floor made everything slick. Without a good grip his hands had to work harder to pull his body along.
Click!
Allyson kicked the door to the cage open and ran for the taser pole just as Tim reached it. He grabbed her ankle and pulled it out from under her.
She screamed and landed on the floor. Her shoulder screamed with a sickly crack when she landed on it.
Time snaked his fingers around the taser pole and readied himself. Allyson kicked out, catching Tim in the jaw.
She grabbed the taser pole in her left hand and pulled it around. She sliced it through the air and landed it against the side of his face.
Tim fell back.
"I should have killed you before!" Tim yelled as he rubbed the side of his face.
Allyson crawled away from the growing puddle of Tim's blood, taser pole in tow, then pulled herself to her feet.
She went to the desk and started rummaging through it, throwing papers and pictures around. Her leg throbbed. With each pulse she knew she was losing more blood. She double checked her makeshift tourniquet and pulled it tighter.
She glanced back over at Tim. He slid across the room and reached the door, then used the doorknob as support to help him to his feet.
"Allan!" he yelled out the door. "Rick!"
"Damn, damn, damn...." She whispered out loud.
She grabbed the taser pole with her good arm and limped across the room I should have run before he got to the door, she chastised herself. Now it was too late. He’d called for help. She shook. She couldn't be sure if it was from more blood loss or from fear. But it was outside of her control. Seconds later, Tim leaned out the door. Blood poured from his foot and dripped down his chest.
"Oh shit," Tim yelled as he ducked back into the room.
*****
The first bomb shook the bunker's walls. Garrett ducked back behind the wall and nodded to Sara. She waved to the rest of the werewolves to get ready, as the second bomb exploded inside the bunker. The billowing smoke offered the perfect cover for the first group of people to sneak in.
Amber took a couple of deep breaths and ran in after them, followed closely by Garrett. Gun shots and screams rang out as, one by one, hunters ran out of the smoke, coughing at the stench, and rubbing the burn from their eyes.
Garrett's guns were pointed at the ready. While Sara led her pack into the deeper levels of the bunker, Garrett swept across the upper level to make sure that they couldn't get flanked.
Chapter Nine
Allyson groaned and shook the explosion out of her head. Dust hung thick in the air. She coughed and tried to look around. Her leg was pinned under the toppled desk.
"Fuck!" Tim's voice echoed.
The fluorescent lights flickered across the ceiling, offering little more than glimpses of the debris that littered the room. Allyson pushed against the desk. Her arms shook and gave out.
"What the hell happened?" She asked.
"I can't be sure. But I think your boyfriend's here to get you."
"Judging by the fear in your voice, I'd say you were right." Allyson licked the blood from the corner of her mouth.
Tim turned back to Allyson. The taser pole lay at her finger tips. He scurried over the debris. Allyson yelled and lifted the desk. Cinderblocks fell from atop the desk, lightening her load as she edged her way out of the desk. But Tim was faster.
He grabbed the taser pole and thrust it onto Allyson's shoulder. She screamed in pain. The smell of burnt hair mixed with the dirt in the air.
Every muscle ached. Weakened by hunger and tortured through cold and electricity. Allyson grabbed the taser pole and pulled with every bit of strength she had left. Tim stumbled and fell to his knees as she cracked the end of the taser pole up and across his face. She grabbed the back of his head and slammed it against the edge of the desk.
Her grunts dried in her throat as she fought to free the taser pole from his grasp. She reached up and slammed her elbow down on his pierced foot. Tim screamed and grabbed his foot. Dropping the pole for a second. Allyson struggled against the weight of the desk as Tim scrambled to climb atop.
The next screams to come from Allyson came from her bones as they cracked and lengthened. Her muscles rippled under her skin as thick fur burst through. She shook her head as her nose and mouth morphed and fangs sprouted from her gums.
"Oh shit," whispered Tim.
He jumped off the desk and scrambled back over the cinderblocks toward the door. Allyson's growls turned lower and more intense.
Seconds later, the desk flew off her. She stood on her back legs. She stared at his cowering form pleading against the fallen wreckage blocking the door. The smell of his blood called to her.
She paced around him, her brea
ths still crystalized under the chill of the air, the dust mixing with the tiny ice crystals.
Tim trembled and screamed where he lay on the pile of debris.
"Hang on!" Rick's voice drifted in from the hallway. "We're coming to get you!"
Rick's encouragement cut off into screams drowned out by more growls. The howling of wolves filled the bunker.
Tim looked around the room, determined not to lose. If he could stop Allyson, he could hide out in this room until sunrise, safe until the rest of the wolves returned to their human forms. Then he could kill them all.
If he could just stop Allyson.
Metal flashed in the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see the barrel of his gun sticking out from the mangled cages that had earlier lined the walls of the room. He clambered over to the gun, just as Allyson leapt toward him.
*****
James snuck through the hallway, looking for the stairs. Through a blend of well-timed smoke bombs and the confusion caused by the attack, he managed to duck around the rest of Tim's men with ease. Then he came face to face with Allan.
Allan smirked and rocked from foot to foot as he stared at James. Come on, turn, he thought.
James's transformation followed as if summoned by Allan's will. Unlike other wolves Allan had come across, James's transformation was smooth. Painless. His fur grew thick and his fangs slipped through his gums.
Cracking bones didn't cause him to lose balance or cry in pain. He tossed Tim's gun aside as his palms and fingers rearranged to form claws. And as his eyes sank into their new sockets, his glare stayed fix on Allan.
Allan trembled. He grabbed his gun and pulled the trigger.
Nothing.
Fuck!
His eyes darted toward the door next to him. If he could get inside, he could block the door and reload his gun. He glanced back at James. More growling came up from behind him. But he didn't dare turn around to see who it was.
Another soda can fell down the hall, releasing its smoke. Allan smirked and held his breath as the smoke filled the hallway. He bolted for the door under the cover of the smoke and screamed as claws ripped into his arm. With his back against the door, he took a second to glance at his arm. Three gashes reached across his upper arm and blood poured out. He screamed again and tears filled his eyes.
Clanging of broken equipment drew his attention away from the scratching at the door behind him. Allan held his breath again and tiptoed across the room.